C. P. 3. Game 2 on last night’s schedule was light years better than the opener; the second being an intense, ultra physical between the Clippers and the Grizzlies that came down to an incredible last-second bucket by the aforementioned Chris Paul. [Check out our Top 25 Buzzer Beaters and Game Winners in NBA Playoff History]

With the game tied at 91 (after the Clips let Memphis come back from a consistent 6-8-point deficit, including allowing a WIDE OPEN dunk on a screen and roll to even it up), CP, having already taken over on the offense end in the final two minutes, found himself iso’d on Tony Allen. Paul wanted to go right and right only, and Allen played defense about as well as anyone could possibly play without fouling. He closed off CP multiple times before Chris got a step on him – but he still forced Paul into a tough shot from outside the lane. Glass. Good. Buzzer. Ballgame. Watch for yourself here: Read More »

With all of the intense, disturbing real-world stuff that went down in Boston all day Friday, basketball games don’t seem so important any more, do they? But here we are. It’s Saturday, the first day of the NBA Playoffs, and after the last week, we probably all need a major dose of basketball played by the world’s greatest athletes to take our minds off of current events.

This is what the schedule looks like: Read More »

With New York mourning the 16th anniversary (are we really that old?) of the death of Biggie Smalls yesterday, the Knicks gave the city something to celebrate. But fittingly, on this day, they also announced another injury to a major star, one that might murder the rest of his season … J.R. Smith had 24 points, and Steve Novak added another 20 off the pine in New York’s 29-point dismantling of Utah, a game that was never close after the first quarter. Read More »

As much as we want to give credit to Kobe Bryant for icing the Lakers win in Brooklyn last night, L.A. should throw the Nets a bone. Brooklyn did everything they could outside of express mailing the W to Hollywood. Down the stretch, the Nets endured a couple of bad shots from Brook Lopez – one was an ugly airball – on poorly executed plays. Then, Gerald Wallace threw away an inbounds pass. Read More »

Somewhere along the way, Jason Terry became more reliable than a Chinese fortune cookie. Maybe it was the first time he guaranteed a title with a tattoo. Or maybe it was during the ’11 Finals when he predicted LeBron couldn’t hold him down all series, and then went out and lit up the King. Or maybe it was this summer when we all saw him repeat the tattoo prediction again, and miraculously didn’t think it was all that crazy. Terry isn’t the guy you want to see on the other end of the Blackjack table right now. Read More »

The Suns had a grand plan all this time, the team said, and this season’s offseason moves were the culmination of deals they were eyeing since 2010. The Arizona Republic offered an interesting look inside the mind of Lon Babby‘s goal for the team, which — it doesn’t seem this long ago — was in three of six Western Conference Finals (last in just 2010). Read More »

Dime had a chance to catch up with a handful of NBA rookies at the NBA Rookie Photo Shoot last Tuesday. On Thursday, we began unrolling our Q&A’s with these future NBA stars. So far we’ve brought you Bradley Beal, John Jenkins, Meyers Leonard and Dion Waiters, and today you’ll hear from Kendall Marshall. Read More »

LeBron James‘ jaw-dropping year has been much discussed around these parts, not just for his accomplishments, but the scale of them. You know the list by now, with its various MVPs and gold-plated championship accoutrements. This year’s NBA rookie class is looking at what Anthony Davis has accomplished in the last year and believes he won’t be stopped either. The NCAA title, an all-time freshman blocks record, first pick in the draft and an Olympic gold medal are quite the haul for the lanky, 6-11 forward in New Orleans, especially one who wasn’t Mr. All-World Everything out of high school. Read More »

For every loser, there must be a winner. Yesterday we brought you the top 10 winners of NBA free agency, and so today we’re bring you it’s counterpoint: the top losers. For what it’s worth, some teams really did try to win (Toronto), while others reminded us why the owners need to be protected from themselves. All in all, it was fun – the topsy turvy he said/she said emotional chess match of Jeremy Lin‘s restricted free agency, the more simplisitic, checkers-like decision of Deron Williams. But with a heavy heart, we bring you those losers. Read More »

The learning curve for rookies is a sliding scale even if every rook enters the NBA dreaming of 20 and 10 a night. Only eight rookies in 2011-12 averaged more than 10 points per game. The guy who becomes the rookie of the year is one of the few whose role can make or break his team, but there’s a huge gap in the roles the rookies will be asked to tackle. While many will be given scraps of playing time, these are the 10 who will be asked to do the most in their first year in the NBA. Read More »